LONDON, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The influential cruise news and reviews website, Cruise Critic® (www.cruisecritic.co.uk) has announced its U.K. Editors' Picks Awards for 2012. The awards, which celebrate excellence in cruise travel, have been selected by an international panel of cruise journalists in 18 different categories recognising the very best cruise lines, ships and ports.

Celebrity Reflection, Celebrity Cruises' newest ship which debuted in October, is honoured as Best New Ship. The vessel will offer Caribbean sailings out of Miami during the winter months, before returning to Europe next summer. The line also took the gourmet's award as Best for Dining.

P&O Cruises takes the title of Best for First-Timers for its wide-ranging appeal and efforts to attract new cruisers, and the line's The Glasshouse bar, which in 2013 will be expanded from Azura to include Ventura, is honoured for the second consecutive year. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines took the awards for Best Value for Money and Best Itineraries, and Thomson Cruises is noted as a top family line and named the Best for Cruising with Kids.

"The Editors' Picks Awards highlight the cruise lines which represent the best of the best," explained Adam Coulter, U.K. editor of Cruise Critic. "We look for those which go above and beyond, or offer something truly exceptional, although it's never an easy task as standards remain high across the cruise industry. As well as honouring the cruise lines, we also highlight two U.K. ports which deserve recognition."

In the year marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the two U.K. ports most closely associated with the ship are both honoured. Belfast where the Titanic was built is named Best U.K. Port of Call while Southampton where most of the ship's passengers boarded is named Best U.K. Departure Port.

In 2012, the cruise industry saw continued growth in the popularity of river cruises, and Cruise Critic recognized this by naming Uniworld as Best River Cruise Line and Viking River Cruises' new Longships share the award for Best New River Ship.

About Cruise Critic (www.cruisecritic.co.uk)Cruise Critic® is an online cruise guide, offering a comprehensive resource for cruise travellers, from first-time cruisers to avid cruise enthusiasts. The site features more than 100,000 cruise reviews and hosts the world's largest online cruise community where travellers share experiences and opinions with fellow cruisers. Cruise Critic was the first consumer cruise site on the Internet, launched in October 1995 by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, July 2012

Cruise Critic and The Independent Traveler are either trademarks or registered trademarks of TripAdvisor, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. TripAdvisor is a trademark of TripAdvisor, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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